Routine eye exams are about much more than updating your glasses or contact lens prescription. During these visits, an optometrist carefully examines your eyes for conditions that can silently impact your vision and overall well-being. Let’s explore three key conditions an optometrist looks for during an eye exam.
Vision and Refractive Errors
Refractive error is a vision problem that happens when your eye doesn’t bend light correctly. This makes things look blurry or hard to see. The optometrist tests for several types of refractive errors. Nearsightedness makes faraway objects look blurry. Farsightedness makes close objects hard to see clearly. Astigmatism causes blurry vision at all distances because your eye has an irregular shape.
Your vision health professional uses special tools to measure how your eyes focus light. They might use an autorefractor machine or have you read letters on a chart. The eye exam specialist also uses different lenses to find the right prescription for glasses or contacts.
Eye Alignment and Movement
Your eyes need to work together as a team. The optometrist checks how well your eyes move and line up. Problems with eye alignment affect how you see and process what you’re looking at.
Eye movement problems happen when your eyes fail to track smoothly. This makes reading harder and causes eye strain. Some people have trouble focusing on objects that move from side to side. Others struggle when their eyes need to jump quickly between different points.
The optometrist tests eye alignment by watching how your eyes move. They may use a small flashlight or ask you to follow a moving object. They also check if your eyes work together when looking at things up close and far away.
Eye Health
The optometrist looks for signs of eye disease during your exam. Many eye conditions don’t cause symptoms until they become serious. Early detection helps prevent vision loss and other problems.
Glaucoma is a severe eye disease that damages the optic nerve. The eye doctor checks the pressure inside your eyes and looks at your optic nerve. They might also test your side vision to see if glaucoma has affected it.
Cataracts make the lens of your eye cloudy. This causes blurry vision and makes lights look too bright. The vision health professional uses a special microscope to look at the lens of your eye. They check for any cloudy spots that might be cataracts.
The optometrist also looks for signs of diabetic eye disease. High blood sugar damages blood vessels in the retina. This can lead to vision problems if left untreated. The optometrist uses a camera to take pictures of your retina. This helps them identify any damage caused by diabetes.
Schedule Your Optometrist Appointment Today
Regular eye exams are fundamental for maintaining good vision and eye health. An optometrist examines your eyes for various conditions during your visit. They check your vision, eye alignment, and overall eye health. Early detection of eye problems helps prevent severe vision loss. Schedule your optometrist appointment to spot eye problems early and get comprehensive eye care.